What do people think will make Britain great again?

[Logiclady94]

I keep coming back to this thought and I wondered what other people thought so I decided to ask the wonderful people on mumsnet for their opinions. I was reading that more jobs were lost, people are being told to return to work to save the economy, coronavirus means that people still don’t feel comfortable doing that, work/life balance needs sorting, income and taxes need rectifying. Not an opinion but you see a lot of the richer need punishing, house prices are ridiculous..

So my wondering is what are people’s thoughts genuine thoughts about what they would change with this country?

Discouraging feckless people from procreating

You mean like our PM? 😉

Staying in EU. Electing politicians who've actually done proper jobs, rather than just sliding from one overpaid consultancy to another with very little sense of how most people actually live. And accepting that better public services means that everyone has to pay a little bit more and that in the long run, this is a good thing for society.

@EggBoxes

Some people think back in the 1920s, when "we controlled half the world"

But 'we' didn't did we? A tiny minority of white, rich, men did.

Life was really shit for most Brits 100 years ago. Living in poverty, no health service to speak of, widespread slums, overworked in often dangerous conditions for poor pay, high infant mortality etc etc.

It wasn't until after the second world war things changed as the elite had to give something back to all those who'd suffered through two world wars.

@Lostnameperson- It’s not an opinion but I’ve read articles saying that Britain’s richest should be taxed a higher amount or their wages be capped above a certain point.. just because they earn more. Like I say I don’t agree and I think they shouldn’t be punished because their income is higher.. there should only be consequences if they are fiddling the system

How is taxing poorer people more fine but taxing rich people more a punishment? And what if they don't circumvent a fair system but comply with an unfair system they designed to suit them?

Where's your logic?

Perhaps you could elucidate on when you think britain was great and why?

Also 'great' is a geographical descriptor not a power or fabulousness descriptor. Great Britain is the greatest i.e. largest island in the British isles. That is all.

**
Industry and producing our own stuff and exports. Become more self sufficient and less reliant on other countries.

Agree although it will cost more.

We have to try & tackle the wealthy more but that's difficult when they are globally based.

We have a ageing population & likely less immigration now so who is going to fund everything?

the term Great Britain merely refers to the largest of the British Isles . Unless they are renamed, & I understand why Ireland would want to do so, it still is Great Britain.'

What's Ireland got to do with that? It's either UK - which is N.Ire, Sco, Wales, Eng or Great Britain - which is Sco. Eng, Wales excl. N.ireland
Ireland, as in Eire, is a separate country entirely.

Socialism.

Nothing. It's all downhill from here. I've seen a massive increase in yob culture over the last 10 years and this will continue. The govt have no control over them and their numbers are increasing.

Bullshit. And people like you have been saying this since Roman times at least.

Some people think increasing production and no longer outsourcing to China will. But I can't see how that would happen without prices increasing dramatically.
Prices need to increase dramatically. Constantly buying cheap stuff will destroy the planet. If stuff is more expensive then people will buy less, use it for longer, and will repair it instead of throwing it away. Which is what we always did previously, before this throwaway culture appeared in the last 30 years or so.

English was ridiculous, I mean watching films like Romeo and Juliet etc isn’t necessary. They are not lessons which help me now as an adult
So you’re saying that literature is unnecessary. No, it doesn’t “help” you. Neither does music or art. Should we stop teaching them too? In fact let’s just stop teaching anything that’s not of practical value. Great idea.

And yet so many people want to live here, why is that if it so very shit?

Imo khan needs to sort out gang culture and knife crime in London. Our once great capital city is a cesspit.

What's Ireland got to do with that?

Many people in Ireland do not like the name "British Isles" as they see it as a political statement, not a geographical name. As it stands, the Island of Ireland is part of the British Isles, and indeed was referred to as Little Britain by Ptolemy.

There was quite a bit of stuff in the news about world population in the last week - countries like Italy and Japan are likely to see their populations halve over the next century, which is quite something. 'First world' countries will see huge population declines and a rapidly ageing population. 'Third world' countries will see population explosions - especially Nigeria, and their populations will be averagely very young. This will probably lead to major migration into Europe, the US and Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc as these countries struggle to maintain their tax bases.

Now, the population reduction is down to contraception and women being able to access education and work, which is a good thing, but it will likely lead to food and security issues in Africa, South America and India.

When we controlled half the world we also had slums and workhouses. I'd prefer a more equal country where we work together with our neighbours, focusing on a strong reputation in technology, quality and trade in a spirit of peace and prosperity.

Our once great capital city is a cesspit.
No, it isn’t.

@EggBoxes

Some people think back in the 1920s, when "we controlled half the world"

But 'we' didn't did we? A tiny minority of white, rich, men did.

Try telling that to the people who think the empire was the greatest thing that ever happened... it's like when they say "WE won the war" (despite them not being born until several decades after)

*And yet so many people want to live here, why is that if it so very shit?

Imo khan needs to sort out gang culture and knife crime in London. Our once great capital city is a cesspit.*

How do you think khan is the one responsible for sorting an issue that has been around since forever? You know london is not the worst place in the uk for knife crime?
And why do so many people want to live here if it's such a cesspit?

Do you even read your own posts let alone newspaper that isn't the sun or the mail?

Since we are so reliant on a service economy & propping up expensive house prices. Add in an ageing population & growing inequality. I can't see how we are not fucked.

The death/permanent removal from Westminster of Dominic Cummings

Less economic reliance on services, more support for R&D, manufacturing & the arts

The end of the First Past the Post two party system seeding conflict and endless rounds of reorganisation of health & education services as a way for the Government of the day to mark their territory.

Less commuting /less dormitory towns stimulating local economies & sense of community

Okay maybe great wasn’t the best word- what would help Britain function well again. I understand the Great Britain title was Victoria’s time when her and her family ran most of Europe.

I think we should take Great away from the question now. What would people like to Change about the way Britain is ran and how would people like to see an improvement on people’s way of life.

Having lived and worked in many other countries I'll tell you what makes Great Britain 'great'. Free speech, tolerance and inclusion. People are allowed to practise whatever faith they wish, they've allowed to wear what they like. Workers have rights, vulnerable people have rights and get benefits. The NHS is so taken for granted in this country it is staggering.

We live in a free society and the biggest complaint seems to be Boris Johnson's hair style and he waffles on a bit.

We were never ‘great’ in the first place. Our economic prosperity came from an empire built on horrific atrocities. I find people who want to go back to that time very worrying, and don’t interact with them unless I have to.

In terms of improving the country, removing the Tories from power would be a good start, but I doubt that will happen any time soon, sadly. Part of me wishes that Scotland would become independent: I feel like they are, in certain ways, far more progressive than the rest of the UK, and deserve not to have to defect to Westminster all the time.

'Many people in Ireland do not like the name "British Isles" as they see it as a political statement, not a geographical name. As it stands, the Island of Ireland is part of the British Isles, and indeed was referred to as Little Britain by Ptolemy.'

Yeah, I am aware as I am Irish. But this convo is about GREAT BRITAIN and Ireland, as far as I'm aware, is not part of Great Britain, and has no part in making it' great' again either...

The increased numbers of people wfh part of the time is going to have a big impact.

I dont think Britain will ever be great again if the definition of great is "a great place to live". We've fallen too far behind our European neighbours in terms of infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities. Our education system is pretty screwed and not fit for purpose for many people. NHS almost overwhelmed. To be great again, for me, we would have to pour a lot of time money and effort into fixing and modernising the railways, fixing all the crumbling roads, moving our healthcare system towards something like the German model, bringing back technical and vocational teaching and qualifications and making sure those opportunities were available to all.

However, despite the problems, I dont agree that London is a cesspit. Compared to many other large capitals otbis fairly clean (much cleaner than it was) and I thought the mayor had done a good job improving TFL (its the national railways that are falling apart). It also is, or was a vibrant and diverse place to live or work with lots to see and do. I think similar about Manchester, Cardiff etc as well. Our cities aren't the issue. Our systems are.

And yes, we need to appreciate the NHS more. It needs more funding but also more organisation/sorting of resources, or we’ll lose it.